Stephanie Selznick; Dorchester, MA:

"A good class is fully engaged, they want to do the experiments, the questions, the answers. They’re into it. You can see it on their faces, the discovery and the excitement. And you know that they’re learning, because if you ask them a question, they just go on and on and on. And it makes the class go by fast, and I’m like wait a minute, stay longer…”

School at a Glance:
Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School
Boston, MA
Enrollment: 242
Ethnicity:
81% African American
13% Hispanic
4% White
Percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch: 83% versus a state average of 29

Stephanie Selznick is a science specialist at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School in Dorchester, MA, an area of Boston located southwest of the city proper.

The school is part of the Boston Public School system, which is one of the largest in the country. The school serves a minority population – about 80% of the students are black, 12% Hispanic, while the rest are divided between White and Asian students. In total, 250 students are enrolled at the school and, as a science specialist for her school, Stephanie sees each of them once a week.

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